A Royal Affair
by Mists of Avalon Dreams
Summary: Hayley Marshall is an English peasant girl who by chance is given the opportunity to work for the royal Mikaelson family, where she meets and falls for Klaus Mikaelson, next in line for the throne. The two share a steamy love affair but obstacles hinder their chances of being together. Can true love conquer all or will family, social class and obligation stand in its way?( Klayley)
1. Introduction

_Introduction_

 _Hayley Marshall an English peasant girl living on the streets of London is taken in as a house servant for the royal Mikaelson family. The handsome son Klaus Mikaelson is heir to the throne and is betrothed to the beautiful yet wicked Katrina Petrova._

 _When Hayley and Klaus meet for the first time they are instantly drawn to the other, but social standing and Klaus's soon to be marriage gives them pause. Despite Klaus and Hayley's attempts to stay away from the other, the desire to be together is too strong. However, Klaus's parents will do and stop at nothing to end the relationship between the star-crossed lovers. Will Klaus and Hayley find a way against all odds to be together, or will family, obligation, and social class ultimately stand in their way of their true love?_


	2. Chapter 1: Wishes in the Night

" _Hayley!",_ the innkeeper yelled at the top of her lungs. " _Where is that ungrateful girl?"_

Hayley was bent over in the street scrubbing dishes in the blistering heat. " _I'm here Miss! I'm on my way!"_ she responded exhausted from all her current labour. " _What does the old hag what now?_ " she muttered under her breathe.

Every day and all night, the innkeeper Mrs. Clutterbuck would work her, Hayley rarely ever got enough sleep. " _Fetch this_!" Mrs. Clutterbuck would order. " _Fetch that, clean this, clean that, sweep this_!" It was a never-ending list of chores and if Hayley dared not move fast enough to see them all to completion Mrs. Clutterbuck would threaten to kick her out with a swiftness, all the while heralding Hayley as the most ungrateful human being on the planet.

" _I swear after all I've done for you, this is how you repay me_!", Mrs. Clutterbuck came out shouting with earsplitting fanaticism. " _With laziness, and lollygagging around!_ "

Here she goes again, Hayley thought to herself. Despite the fact that Hayley always moved as quickly as any person could considering all the chores that needed to be done and always left the inn sparkling clean after finishing with her chores, Mrs. Clutterbuck was never happy. It was almost as if the woman enjoyed ranting and raving all day, seeing as she never did anything else.

" _I should throw you back out on the street where I found you!"_ , the old woman ranted on. _" I feed you, clothe you, and you can't even manage to do simple chores!"_

The chores were far from simple. Several times Hayley had to climb up to the roof with the half broken and unstable latter and clean muck from the gutters, and all the times she nearly fell and broke her neck. " _I'm moving as fast as I can Miss_ " Hayley responded politely.

" _NOT FAST ENOUGH_!" the old woman yelled, turning red with rage. _" Move you skinny behind and get to cleaning the inn! I don't feed and clothe you out of the goodness of my heart!"_

" _Didn't think you had a heart",_ Hayley muttered under her breathe.

" _What was that_?" Mrs. Clutterbuck screeched.

" _I said I'll move faster Miss_ ", Hayley lied.

Despite the old woman's claims Hayley was barely fed and given mere rags to clothe herself. She was always tired, always hungry, always living in want and fear. She was an orphan; her parents had died when she was but a small child and she had lived on the streets of London ever since fending for herself and trying to survive. It wasn't until Mrs. Clutterbuck saw her begging for scraps on the side of the road did Hayley ever have a roof over head.

Back then, Hayley thought she had been saved and she wouldn't have to worry about surviving any longer now that Mrs. Clutterbuck had taken her in. Hayley had no idea how wrong she would be. Life with Mrs. Clutterbuck was so hard and strenuous that at times, Hayley thought it would be better to go back on streets and take her chances there, however ultimately she decided that having food, water, and a roof over ones head no matter how little, was better than nothing at all.

" _See to it you have everything done by midnight or you're out on the street! I don't have time for ungrateful scroungers eating me out of house and home!",_ the old woman badgered on again.

Hayley sighed and depressingly answered " _Yes Miss_ "

She knew that life with Mrs. Clutterbuck may seem like hell itself, but nothing was worse than life out on the streets of London for a young girl. Hayley had lived that life for the past 14 years, when she was orphaned at 4 years old; and now at 18 years of age she knew that she would endure anything to not go back to the streets.

" _Stop your daydreaming and move your behind!"_ Mrs. Clutterbuck yelled once more.

" _I'm on my way Miss._ ", Hayley answered. " _I'm on my way_ " And with that, Hayley was on towards the next item on the list of endless chores, toiling away till midnight wishing and hoping one day that she would be free of all of this and simply for once in her life, be happy.

On the other side of the city, high in a castle in the sky, as if their souls had called out to one another in the night, a boy named Klaus was wishing for the same thing.

"NI _KLAUS_!" King Mikael ruler of England called out. Once again barging in and intruding on his thoughts

Klaus sighed, " _Yes Father_ ", the young prince answered, dismayed at what he knew his father had come to say.

" _Ahh there you are_ ", the King said looking proudly at his heir to throne. " _Cheer up my boy, tomorrow is the ball. You at long last get to meet your soon to be bride_ ", the King said jauntily.

" _I can't wait_ ", Klaus said sarcastically.

" _Oh no more of your whining_!", King Mikael boomed. " _The Petrova's are a good royal line to merge with. I hear miss Katrina is a beauty, and will birth you nice and healthy princes when you become King one day"_

Klaus groaned at once again his father's complete dismissal of his own wants.

" _But I do not love her father",_ Klaus said pleadingly. " _I don't even know her_!"

" _Exactly!",_ Klaus's father countered. " _And until you get to know her how can you say you will not learn to love her, like I did your mother"_

" _I do not want to learn to love someone Father_ ", Klaus opposed. " _I want to fall madly in love. I want the woman I marry to be the one…"_

" _Ahh rubbish!" Mikael interrupted. " Your mother read too many fairytales to you as a child. She should have known better I told her not to fill your head with such nonsense"_

" _Love is not nonsense Father" Klaus rebuffed. " Finding true love is not a fairytale."_

" _IT IS FOR YOU!", King Mikael declared. " You are to be King of England! Ruling armies, conquering territories, and having lesser men kneel at your feet, not worrying about mundane things such as love!"_

" _But what good is a life without love Father?", Klaus questioned. "Mother would understand", he sulked._

" _Your mother understood her place and her duty to her family and to her country!", Mikael roared. " It's come time you understand yours"_

And with those final words King Mikael left with nothing more to say. He was the King and what he said went, whether his son liked it or not. One day when Klaus was King, he would thank him for being stern with him and telling him to let go of ridiculous notions like true love. He had more important things to worry of, and marrying a Petrova would build an alliance so powerful that no army, not even the French could dare ever threaten theirs. Klaus would see. He was still young and had much to learn about life and his duties as a future King.

Klaus turned around and went back to balcony, staring out into the night far and beyond to the vast country he would someday rule. Perhaps his father was right he thought to himself. Perhaps for him finding love was simply a fairytale.

But unbeknownst to him, as fate would have it, true love wasn't so out of his reach as once presumed.


End file.
